Originally Posted by BobbyG

A mirror saved my life...again!

A mile into my commute home there is a long traffic light I must always stop and wait for. On the far side of the intersection a narrow bike lane begins and a third of a mile down the road is a heavy constuction company which is home to big dump trucks and those long gravel trucks.

I wait for the light at the pedestrian crosswalk, and when it changes I cross in the crosswalk which then funnels me into the clearly marked, but narrow bike lane. This means there is a line of traffic to my left that had built up at the light.

For the third of a mile leading up to the construction company there are four or five side streets. I am always anticipating cars driving up to the corner and about half the time I will encounter at least one, but because of the line of traffic that has now passed me, the side street traffic has stopped, or is slowing.

Well, yesterday afternoon, despite the traffic on my left, there was a large pick-up truck that came out of the side street at about 50mph. I hit my horn and my brakes, but the bike lane had gravel and loose dirt (thanks in part to the construction trucks) The pickup must not have anticipated stopping at the stop sign, nor the possibility of cross traffic, and hit his brakes.

In just an instant I had three thoughts. First, he is going to slide into traffic and hit a car. Second, he will hit me first. Third, I must swing left.

Fortunately I reflexively checked my take-a-look mirror which was filled completely with the grill of a gravel truck coming up behind me on my left. So I didn't veer left. I was still carrying too much speed and past the point of turning right into the side street and I honestly don't know what happened, but I came to a stop in the bike lane just past the street. I looked back and the pickup truck was stopped over the bike lane and partially into traffic.

Had I veered left I would have surely been run over by the gravel truck. But the mirror stopped me. And it allowed me to continue looking forward at the same time as well.

In the future, after the long light I will cross the street at the light but then stop and wait the 10 to 20 seconds for traffic to pass me, then I can just take the lane and be further out from the side streets. I have a couple of other narrow points on my commute where if I see traffic coming up behind me in my mirror I will stop before the road narrows for a few seconds to let them pass.